HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's foreign ministry on Thursday expressed "great pity" over a Germany statement accusing Vietnam of kidnapping a former oil executive, and said Hanoi wants to develop a "strategic relationship" with Germany.
Germany's foreign ministry on Wednesday accused Vietnam of kidnapping Trinh Xuan Thanh, a former executive at state oil company PetroVietnam, who faces charges of financial mismanagement in Vietnam.
Police in Vietnam on Monday said Thanh had turned himself in that day after a 10-month international manhunt.
"I feel great pity about the statement on August 2 of the German foreign ministry spokesperson," Vietnamese foreign ministry's spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters in Hanoi.
"Vietnam very much respects and wants to develop the strategic partnership relation between Vietnam and Germany," she added.